The Hidden Grief in Wayward Souls
by nightwish435
Summary: As the journey begun in "The Hate He Never Knew" and succeeded by "The Demon of Sansburg Hall" comes to a close, Armin confronts both the hate in Kayla's heart along with the bitterness he took on after his trauma. Armin comes face-to-face with the monster responsible for the pain of so many people, and justice is served at last.
1. The First Step

On the outskirts of Mina Carolina's hometown, a small city that had remained utterly unchanged in the face of the lesbian girl's untimely death, Lieutenant Anastasia sat in her cruiser, weary and worn after hearing from her superiors about the disturbing revelations given to them by the university officials.

" _We have proof that it_ _ **was**_ _premeditated murder after all,"_ she thought, gazing out of her car up at the empty blue sky above. _"As if I needed to hear that, after seeing all of the pocketknife wounds over Mina's corpse. But nonetheless, we needed to know that. This tipoff will prove to be vital, for sure."_

" _I need more than an allegation, though, to apprehend this bastard, Zach. While I won't dare deride that poor girl after what she saw in the park, we can't just use a vision as proof. What we need is…oh geez, at least transcripts of the plot to murder Mina! But how…"_

Her pondering was interrupted by an approaching glow of sunlight on her left. Anastasia squinted as she turned to the driver seat window, and couldn't help but gasp as she beheld her visitor.

A massive, tall and blonde police officer, whose face was obscured by the sudden light came up to her window and bent down, smiling warmly at her. Anastasia felt a shudder of grief run through her body when she thought she recognized the man.

"Officer Arlert?" she asked softly, reaching out with a shaking hand. " **Will?!** "

The man's smile changed into a sad frown, and he took her hand in his own large palm, gently saying to her "Oh, Anastasia…I'm so, so sorry, but I'm not William Arlert."

Despite her personal rule of refraining from tears in front of strangers, Anastasia wept bitterly, the memory of her protector's loss still burdening her even after more than 10 years had passed. Even after she had been transferred from her birth city to the smaller, more rural town that lacked the warmth she was used to, Anastasia still ached for William Arlert's fatherly embrace and constant assurance.

"Please, hear me out, Anastasia," the stranger begged her, holding her hand tenderly, and holding her in place with his gaze, "I've come to tell you more about the murderer, Zach."

At that, Anastasia snapped to attention, and she snarled viciously, the desire to bring Mina's murderer to justice flaring within her.

"What that girl, Elise saw in the park wasn't just a vision, it was a revelation revealing who killed that poor girl. You have heard that Zach conspired with his girlfriend, Kayla, to murder Mina. I know how to acquire the proof you need to get the warrant to arrest him."

"Tell me!" she pleaded, gripping the edge of her seat with her free hand.

"I will guide my go-between into hacking Kayla's computer, and to deliver the fruits of his investigation to you at the police station. Coincidentally, this boy was the same person who brought to light the plot to kill Armin."

" _I'm ashamed that I couldn't do anything to protect Will's son! But thank God those bastards were stopped."_

Anastasia nodded up at him, and said firmly "Good. Perfect. This is the come-through my department needed."

She then asked him "Who are you, by the way? I've never seen you before."

The man grinned at her, and said "I am Michael, the Captain of the Special Division. It is my duty to assist people like you and Will Arlert when needed, and to intervene when protection is needed. Will knew a great deal about me, and I do believe that he mentioned me to you when he rescued you all those years ago."

" _Wait, what? Will didn't…did he?"_

Anastasia's mind was irritatingly foggy as she tried to recall the day she had been abandoned by her ungrateful parents, whom she had disowned for their bitter hatred. She couldn't remember Will ever mentioning an officer named Michael to her.

"I assure you, the justice that you, Helen and others have ached for will be delivered swiftly. It is time, and Zach will never see us coming. When the moment to strike comes, I myself will assist you in apprehending him."

"And I'm grateful for it," she told him. "Helen and I have longed to catch whoever destroyed Mina's life and punish them accordingly."

"Absolutely, I understand. That moment will come soon. Until then, Lieutenant."

With that, to her alarm, the man disappeared from sight in front of her, leaving her shocked and beyond confused. No trace of him could be seen around her, and Anastasia couldn't understand what had happened to him.

" _I don't get it! Did I have some sort of vision? And what 'Special Division' was he talking about? I don't know any Division like that, in either city I've served in."_

" _And who is he? He told me that Will mentioned him to me long ago, on that day…but Will didn't actually do that. All he did was give me…"_

Anastasia reached into her chest pocket, and withdrew the St. Michael the Archangel pendant that William Arlert had given to her on that weary day. The silver pendant was warm in her hand, and Anastasia gawked down at it as she pondered a new possibility.

" _No way!"_

* * *

Armin met Annie at the downtown café, and when he approached her, he noticed how oddly at peace his best friend seemed to be. The coldness that usually pervaded her expression had softened considerably, and when she saw him coming towards her, Annie had a small smile playing on her lips.

"You look really happy, Annie!" Armin said to her, and she nodded whimsically.

"You better believe it, Armin. My mind's been finally put at ease over Mina's death."

"Huh?"

Annie told him "I…I was visited by that dark woman you've seen guarding you at night. She helped me confront my guilt and self-hatred over feeling helpless to prevent Mina's murder. I finally allowed myself to do the catharsis I've needed for so long."

"Oh, good. But why just recently?"

"It's simple. I was furious that nobody seemed willing to prevent Mina's murder, and my accusation was answered when I least expected it. I know the full truth now, and I've seen with my own eyes at Mina is in a much better place now."

" _Oh, Annie…"_

Armin sat down next to her and said "I'm happy for you. It's just so unnerving, all of the stuff that's been happening lately."

"Tell me about it. Are you still upset over the nightmare you had recently?"

"Eh, I feel better, but I'm still horrified," he told her, shuddering as he recalled the sight of his demonic doppelganger in the dream mirror. "Nothing could've prepared me for that image."

"Understandable. But at least you'll see your Uncle tomorrow."

"True."

Uncle Joey and Armin had agreed that they would meet for lunch downtown the following day, and his Uncle had hinted to him that he wanted to discuss a great number of things. Armin, too, was itching to talk to his Uncle about the romantic bond he had shared with his dad.

With spring in session, the trees surrounding downtown were wildly blooming, a myriad of blossoms flowering around them. Dancing petals adorned the scenery as the wind softly blew over the area.

Annie sighed and told him "Speaking of meetups, I…Bertolt wants to talk to me about everything. He managed to find me online, and apparently, ever since he encountered you in Wickson, he's been running all over this campus hoping to get the chance to make things up."

"I'm not surprised," Armin muttered. "When I told him that you were here, he freaked out and immediately went looking for you."

"I told him that I'd be willing to talk tomorrow, on the far edge of campus where nobody will bother us. I'm honestly worried over how much he's been beating himself up over what happened back then. He didn't come close to being half the bastard that Shane was to you. His guilt complex must be even worse than mine was over Mina."

"I suppose so. Then we'll have to let each other know how our talks to tomorrow!"

"Absolutely."

* * *

Helen sat in her house that evening, clutching her tea mug and shaking with mixed emotion as she went over the message that Elise, of all people, had left for her in her email.

" _She saw Mina get killed in a vision! And it wasn't one of those trash girls from the high school, but the lead girl's boyfriend! I knew that Mina's murder couldn't have been a random incident, but for it to be a premeditated plot…what the fuck is wrong with people?!"_

Elise had sent her an extremely long email detailing everything she had learned, including that Zach, her daughter's killer, was plotting with Kayla to kill Armin in the same way. Helen also read that her town's police department had been informed of the info by Levi, Sansburg Hall's RHD.

Officer Anastasia, the same woman who had delivered her daughter's corpse home that horrid night, had payed Helen a visit shortly after Elise's email. The policewoman had shown up on her doorstep, weeping at the revelation that both of them had been given.

"I-I…" Anastasia had tried to say through her tears as Helen welcomed her inside that night.

"I know," Helen told her, and that night, the two women had discussed what they had learned, and wished together for the murderer to be apprehended soon.

She sipped her tea, unable to calm down as she recalled Elise telling her that Zach wanted to do the same thing to Armin, whom Helen had feared came close to committing suicide after what the girls had put him through in Sansburg Hall.

" _So this piece of shit wanted to kill Armin to? Thank goodness that this RHD is on top of things over there in that university, or I'd be going mad right now with worry. We have a violently homophobic potential serial killer on our hands, and I want this bastard stopped before he harms anybody else!"_

* * *

Connie sat before his laptop, his hacking program opened before him, as the massive policeman stood by his side, watching stoically as Connie set about to hack into Kayla's computer.

He had been utterly taken aback when the man had appeared before him in his dorm room, and gave Connie the directive to hack into Kayla's computer to discover another sinister secret. The man had only introduced himself as Michael, and Connie had wasted no other time in setting about finding the coordinates of Kayla's pc.

With the program's assistance, along with the guidance of the man who knew her IP address and password off the top of his head, Connie had found Kayla's pc easily. Right after he hacked in, Connie went straight to her message history, and, as the policeman told him, scrolled far down until he found a conversation almost two summers previous between Kayla and Zach, Kayla's disturbingly sadistic boyfriend.

"H-holy shit!" Connie muttered as he glanced at the conversation before him, and Michael grimaced as they read through the messages.

 **Kayla:** "It's set, then! Mina will be out on her usual park stroll tonight around 10. Go there around 9:45 and wait until nobody else is around, then strike that dyke down!"

 **Zach:** "Gladly! I've waited for this for too long, and I can't wait to see the look on that faggot's face when she realizes that her time's up!"

 **Kayla:** "And with Elise totally in the dark on all of this, nobody can get in my way!"

 **Zach:** "This will be glorious, babe!"

Connie looked up at Michael, and barely managed to whisper "What the fuck?" as the horror of the conversation overtook him.

Michael shook his head bitterly and only said "I'm sorry, buddy. Unfortunately, I needed you to dig this up. In order to arrest that brat, we need proof, and this is perfect."

"What should I do next?" Connie asked, wiping away at his eyes as tears began to bud.

"Screenshot these messages, everything pertinent to Mina's death, and send them to the email address belonging to her town's police department."

The officer quickly gave Connie the address, and within just a minute, Connie had sent them the screenshots, along with a hurried message explaining everything.

He bit his lip, and looked up at the stranger, asking hesitantly "Will I get busted for hacking into her computer?"

In response, Michael told him "For this, and for ensuring that Shane wouldn't go unpunished for plotting to kill Armin, you'll get off scotch free, as people say. But kid, please keep in mind that hacking **is** illegal, and in almost all other circumstances, you could face a really serious penalty."

"Got it. What will you do next then?"

"I'm going to catch this brat by surprise, and hand him over to my protégé to deal with. I won't let him hurt Armin, or anybody else ever again, mark my word."

And with that, to Connie's alarm, the officer disappeared just as easily as he had appeared minutes before, leaving Connie to ponder over the nature of the visit.


	2. Hunting the Hunters

**Trigger Warning: Mention of Domestic Abuse**

 **Date:** March 31

 **Subject:** Student Code of Conduct Violation-Meeting Required

 _Kayla,_

 _The Office of Student Conduct has received reports, along with incriminating evidence, that you caused serious emotional trauma to Armin Arlert while he was a resident of Sansburg Hall, and as such, you are required to meet with us on Monday, April 4, to discuss the consequences of your actions._

 _Your mother has been informed likewise, and will be required to attend this meeting with you. Armin Arlert will join our mediator along with you two, and in the meeting, we will go over everything that has happened._

 _You will meet us at the Office at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 4, no exceptions._

 _-The Office of Student Conduct_

Kayla couldn't help but sob as she finished reading the email, sitting in her dorm and barely recovering from the horror of her nightmare days previous.

" _It's really happening!"_ she thought, shaking with terror. _"And now, mom's going to punish me for failing!"_

Her mother had warned her repeatedly since Armin had escaped from Kayla's clutches in Sansburg Hall that she would not tolerate her daughter screwing up the plan to drive the boy to death, by suicide or even murder. And now that her university had dragged her mother into the punishment process, Kayla knew that she was soon to be the object of her mother's cruelty once more.

Kayla let her hand drift to her neck, tenderly touching the spot where her mother had once gripped her tightly and throttled her for initially failing to push Nac and Mylius to suicide when the three of them had only been freshmen in their Christian high school.

" _I'm going…to be expelled. I mean, there's no possible other outcome. I don't know how they managed to find out about my plot against Armin, but…if they're fully aware of everything then…I'm done for."_

" _All I wanted was to please mom enough for her to stop treating me like an insect. All I wanted was to make her happy enough to acknowledge me as her daughter, for once. I allowed myself to get carried away on the high of hurting gay people, which always makes her so fucking happy, and look at me now."_

She wiped away at her tears, and muttered softly "Dad…where are you when I need you?"

* * *

Armin sat at one of the tables of the downtown diner, waiting nervously for his Uncle Joey to show up.

" _I'm gonna have to tell him about everything, and that probably means…what I had to talk to Reiner about, too. I don't have much of a choice. And besides, better for me to tell him, than to have Uncle Joey use his freaky intuition on me again."_

For as long as he could remember, Uncle Joey had used a strange, inherent sense of intuition that enabled him to know immediately when somebody was hiding something from him, be it Will, Ellie, or even Armin.

He didn't have to wait long, because after he had sat for barely 10 minutes, Armin saw him walk in through the front doors, wearing a handsome midnight-blue suit and hardly looking like he was in his 40's. Between his pictures with Will during their time together in college and at his current age, Joey looked different only by the subtle smile creases on his face.

"There you are, Armin!" he called out, grinning jovially.

Armin bolted from the booth and tackled his godfather in a tight embrace, noting that the two of them were almost matched in height, both standing barely at 5'4". Armin had to suppress a giggle when he realized that between Joey and his mom, who was even shorter, his dad apparently had a type.

" _Dad really liked his partners to be tiny, didn't he? He probably loved feeling so naturally protective of them with his immense stature."_

"Hey, Uncle Joey! It's so good to see you again!"

"Right back at ya! Now let's get something to eat, I'm starving."

Their food came quickly, and for several minutes, the two of them sat together and silently ate, watching each other, waiting for the other to speak first. After he gulped down the last bit of his sandwich, Joey crossed his arms and began.

"Alright kiddo, I'm not gonna bother with anymore pleasantries. John told me everything about what you got put through up here, and I need you to fill me in on anything else that's happened. After all, I'm a lawyer, and I have every intention of unleashing the fires of Hell on this forsaken university for what happened to you."

" _The fires of Hell, huh?"_ Armin mused as he straightened up in his seat. _"That's exactly what mom said, in that dream of dad's past, that she would unleash hellfire if anything ever happened to me."_

"Well…since you just want to cut to the chase, I'll get right to it. I found out with some assistance that some of the pricks who hurt me legitimately wanted to kill me, too."

Joey snarled, and snapped back "What?! Even after you left? That's sickening!"

"I know. Somebody hacked into their online conversations, and somebody from that floor who had a change of heart revealed that the leader wanted to send **Zach** after me. Turns out, Zach is her girlfriend."

"Y-you mean-"

"Yup," Armin muttered, shuddering as he continued. "The Zach that bullied me so badly in elementary school. Same guy. What a small world, right?"

Joey groaned, and looked suddenly exhausted after hearing Armin's update. Armin bit his lip, knowing that his godfather was likely remembering his own violent experience with homophobia.

"Armin, I…I mean, 'I'm sorry' won't cut it. These people sound like…serial killers, almost. Wannabe…serial killers…"

Armin looked at his godfather in confusion as Joey's eyes glazed over with a faraway look, the hazel orbs seemingly looking right through Armin. It took a minute before Joey snapped out of it.

"S-sorry, I-"

"No worries, I'm tired too," Armin answered.

He was unable to wait any further, and in an attempt to slowly break into the topic on his heart, he hesitantly asked his godfather "What do you think dad would do?"

Joey scoffed and told him "Simple. He'd try to kill them."

" **Like when it happened to you**?"

At that, Joey froze up like a statue, and Armin knew that he had struck home.

"What are you talking about, Armin?" Joey stammered, but Armin wasn't fooled by his coyness.

"Dad…he…showed up in my dreams some time ago, and…well, Uncle Joey, he showed me his past. He showed me the truth about his sexual identity, and…the truth of you two, as well."

Armin watched as tears rapidly budded up in his godfather's eyes, and felt extreme pity for him. The guilt was already too palpable in how Joey was looking at him.

" **Will** …"

Joey shuddered with grief as his tears spilled over, and meekly said to Armin "I-I'm so…sorry, Armin…"

"You have nothing to apologize for, Uncle Joey," Armin answered firmly. "I get it. None of you told me because you probably thought it would be too shocking, too confusing for me to understand. But it's ok, really. I was just surprised to learn that you two were more than best friends, that's all."

"I kept delaying telling you, and I should've just made myself say it when you came out to me two years go. But I'm a coward, Armin. I thought…it was so stupid of me to think, but I thought you'd be furious and disown me."

"Never!" Armin said back, horrified at how deep Joey's guilt went. "I'll never disown you, Uncle Joey! You'd never deserve that!"

"Even then, I feel so ashamed," Joey said. "I could've given you advice on how to prepare yourself for the shit you went through."

Armin gave his godfather a weak smile and told him "That's what dad told me, actually. Pretty much the same thing."

Joey laughed softly and muttered "He always was the mega-protective good guy."

They both chuckled a bit, before Armin said to him "There's something that **I** need to confess, Uncle Joey."

His godfather cocked an eyebrow at him, and asked "What is it?"

Armin bit his lip awkwardly and admitted "Those girls…that bastard who turned out to be an absolute monster…I… **I hated them. And I wanted…there was one point where I wanted to…** "

He looked at Joey, and to his shock, realized that his godfather's intuition had missed the mark; Joey was utterly alarmed.

Before Armin could explain himself Joey shakily asked him " **Y-you too?** "

"Huh?"

There wasn't a moment to ask further, before Joey told him "I wanted to kill my attackers too, Armin. I wanted to murder them with my own hands."

"Uncle Joey?" Armin asked, stunned by the revelation.

"Please, let me explain. You're not alone. Heck, I don't know why the hell I was remotely surprised that you wanted to kill your attackers too. Back then, after that horrible night out with Will, I plotted and schemed how to get revenge on Bill, and the other two pieces of shit who pummeled me."

"That's why I got my gun permit. So that I could…practice. I daydreamed daily about finding them, and gunning them down with extreme cruelty. I longed to show them that I could be far crueler than any of those idiots could hope to be. Back then, I gave my poor mother a heart attack when I momentarily let my new malice show on my face during one daydream at home."

Armin listened closely as Joey went on, faintly thinking that he knew where the story was going.

"I didn't stop until that nightmare happened. All of a sudden, I found myself carrying my gun, and surrounded by bloodied, bullet-riddled corpses, with women and children screaming in horror at the carnage I had wrought. I saw myself as the monster I longed to be, and after that, I realized that I had to let go of my hate.

Joey groaned, and clutched at his stomach, looking nauseous, as he said to Armin "In the end, the person who gets wounded by our hate is we ourselves. I still regret holding in all of that, Armin. I could've landed myself in prison for life, and that terrifies me."

"Oh, Uncle Joey…" Armin said, alarmed but relieved to hear that he wasn't alone, "I don't blame you. It was awful, what Bill and those other morons did to you."

"Seriously. But Armin…" Joey asked him hesitantly, "what made **you** stop?"

His godfather gawked as Armin involuntarily shudder violently at the memory of that red, scaly-skinned and twisted doppelganger gazing back at him in the soul mirror.

"I saw myself as the monster that my enemies thought I had become, because of how cruel my thoughts were. The bastard, Shane, told me that somehow, I left his girlfriend, who happened to be the leader's top henchman, in a coma due to the horror I caused her. Now I know what she saw, Uncle Joey. **She saw me as a demon**."

Joey nodded solemnly, and told him "At least you know now to not let yourself get carried away anymore. It's a tough lesson."

He took out his wallet as the waiter came by to drop off the check and asked Armin "So, will you face this bitch again anytime soon?"

"Yeah. The Office of Student Conduct emailed me to say that Monday at 4:00, there will be a mediation meeting to discuss how she'll get punished. All of us are betting on expulsion, Uncle Joey. We want her gone."

As he placed his card on the receipt, Joey laughed sharply and said "Well, duh, Armin. I would too. But I'm sure it'll go well. I have no doubt that, assuming they have the proof they need to incriminate her properly, they won't have a choice."

"Here's hoping. I'll let you know what happens, Uncle Joey."

"Good, Armin. I'll be waiting with bated breath!"

* * *

Annie and Bertolt sat together on a bench at a quiet corner of the campus where nobody would bother them, each of them looking tense. Bert was already sweating profusely, and Annie didn't know whether she was supposed to feel pity or utterly impatient as she waited for him to speak.

"W-well…" he tried to say, fidgeting with his hands as he spoke, "it's time, Annie."

"Time for what, Bert?" she asked coldly, annoyed at how long it was taking him to speak. "Time for you to get to the point, maybe?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right, let's get this over with," he said, laughing sheepishly.

"I asked you to meet me because…I owe you an apology."

Annie laughed harshly and snapped "Well no shit, Sherlock. You were an absolute prick to me and the rest of our class back then."

Bert lowered his gaze, and muttered "I was awful, I won't deny that. But Annie…that's not why I wanted to see you. There's something else I need to own up to."

At that, Annie was left dumbfounded. She had only come along with the expectation that he would say sorry for letting his status as a rising high school athlete blow up his ego, and the sudden addition had thrown her off.

"I don't know how to say this, um…" Bert said to her, still avoiding her gaze. "There's a reason I was acting so arrogantly, and over-the-top macho towards all of you back then."

Annie furrowed her brow up at him, and then, it her.

" _So Bert is…"_

"Annie…I'm-"

" **Gay?** "

Her quick answer took him by surprise, along with the soft look she now had on her face. Annie's blue eyes were no longer filled with malice, only quiet acceptance.

"That explains too much, Bert. You sound just like Shane, the asshole homophobe who turned out to be a gay porn addict, and the biggest hypocrite ever. Except unlike Shane, you actually feel bad, so hey, kudos to you."

Bert gritted his teeth, and Annie sighed as she saw that tears were forming at the corners of his eyes.

"But, I hurt you!" he wailed. "And that's not ok!"

"Obviously not, Bert," she answered curtly. "You were wrong, point blank period. Of course, you being gay doesn't excuse anything you did. It does explain it, but like you just said, that doesn't make it ok. But for goodness sake, you don't need to beat yourself up like this. Heck, you never even bullied anybody. You just had the worst attitude among our classmates."

Bert shook his head violently, and nearly screamed at her "But I hurt you!"

"And you were wrong!" she yelled back, shutting him up. "And I made myself forgive you after graduation, Bert, for my sake, not for yours. You weren't worth the grudge. Yes, you hurt me. Yes, you were wrong. **But I forgive you, and you have got to move on with your life!** "

She placed a firm hand on his shoulder, and said to him "Please, Bert. You aren't helping anybody, or fixing the past by hating yourself like this. Humility is important, duh, but this self-hatred is going way too far."

He sniffled, and asked her "When did you become so willing to forgive? Not to be critical, but you were always so hard-headed back then."

"I…learned that the worst grudges can be the ones you hold against yourself," she explained, remembering the Watcher's plea to forgive herself.

Above them, the sunlight peeked out between the clouds, and it was becoming more obvious that summer was hiding around the corner. The temperature was steadily climbing, but even then, Annie saw that Bert was still shivering.

"My parents…" he started to say, and Annie felt a huge pang of pity for him as she knew where the talk was going, "I haven't told them yet, and Annie, I'm so scared!"

"Scared of being rejected, right?"

"Yes!" he answered, looking terrified. "We know how our town reacted to Mina Carolina getting murdered like that! The whole city rejected her for being a lesbian!"

With a grimace on her face, Annie knew that he was right.

"I can't promise you that it'll be ok, Bert," she said, hoping that his parents wouldn't abandon him like Mina's father had, "but know that if you need me, I'm here. Even though we aren't close like we used to be, I don't want you to become the town's fourth gay victim."

She gave him a genuine smile, and told him "If it really goes wrong like you think it will, my dad would likely be more than willing to give you a safer home."

With that remark, Bert burst into tears, and he wrapped Annie up in a massive embrace, his long arms completely entwined around her. After her shock wore off, Annie hugged him back, grateful for how open their talk had been.

* * *

That night, in an apartment set on the outskirts of Mina Carolina's hometown, Zach stood in the living room of his family's home, frightened out of his wits at what Kayla had told him about the events that had befallen her.

" _How the fuck did they find out about what we did to that dyke?! And who's working for that fucking faggot? I swore to my dad that I'd kill that fag myself, with Kayla's help or not, and I_ _ **will not**_ _be denied that glory!"_

Only a few hours prior, right after his parents had left him alone in the apartment, Kayla had called him and revealed everything, and Zach was no longer able to call her simply superstitious. Whatever the supernatural presence against them was, Zach knew that the odds were stacked against them.

His terror was suddenly heightened by a violent pounding on the apartment door. Zach froze up as he heard a woman shouting at him from the other side.

" **Open up, this is the police!** "

Zach swore under his breath, and muttered "This is bad!"

He looked around madly, and found the spot in the bookcase where his dad kept the handgun hidden. Zach bolted to the bookcase, yanked the gun from out of its spot, and readied it. As the pounding and shouting continued, Zach aimed his gun at the door, ready to gun the officer down the instant she came in.

Before anything else could happen, Zach was suddenly shoved to the ground from behind, and he grunted in pain as the gun was twisted out of his grasp. He wriggled around hopelessly, his arms held in a vise-like grip, and he shuddered when he saw his enemy.

A massive, blonde police officer with soul-piercing grey eyes was looming over him, glaring down at him and holding his gun far out of reach. Zach tried to dispel his terror and act tough.

"Who the fuck are you, and how did you get in my home?!" he yelled.

The man sneered down at him, and told him "I'm her protector, brat. While you were distracted with even more murderous thoughts, it was beyond easy for me to enter here. I won't let you hurt her, and I won't let you take any more innocent lives!"

Zach gave his captor a malicious grin, and said "'Protector'? As if! Nobody got in my way when I slit that dyke's throat!"

In response, the man leaned down so that their faces were closer together, and snapped back "Mina Carolina didn't allow us to intervene, because you, Kayla and all you other pigs drove her to hate life itself. She chose to die, and is at peace in a place where nobody can hurt her."

"But as for **you** , you slime…" the man whispered, prompting Zach to shudder violently, "you're going to spend the rest of your life locked away in this town's jail. You won't hurt anybody ever again, and Armin Arlert will never become your next victim."

As he tried to squirm in vain, Zach screamed up at him "So you're a fag defender!"

"You better believe it, brat," the man answered coldly. "I help defend those who've been rejected by this miserable world, and that very much includes people like Mina and Armin."

He snapped his fingers, and to Zach's horror, a clicking noise was heard from the door, and it was immediately kicked open to reveal the policewoman standing on the other side. Zach could do nothing but watch in defeat as she ran up and bound his wrists together in cuffs, her fury radiating off of her like an aura.

"Thank you, Captain Michael," the woman said viciously as she locked the cuffs.

" _Michael? Wait…_ _ **no**_ _…"_

"Absolutely, Lieutenant Anastasia. He's all yours now," Michael replied, handing Zach's gun to her and standing up, towering over Zach at what must've been 8' tall.

The mysterious policeman smirked satisfactorily down at him, and told him "If you had paid any attention to your Catholic upbringing, and taken to heart the warning to love your neighbor unconditionally, you wouldn't be squirming on the ground like a worm. That, and you would've understood right away just who was sent to deal with you."

With that, the man suddenly disappeared from sight, leaving Zach alone with the policewoman, who was glowering down at him with furious triumph.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Mina Carolina," she told him, and yanked Zach off the ground, forcing him to follow her out of his apartment and towards what would end up being his life-lasting confinement.


	3. Kayla's Truth

**Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse**

The next few days dragged on for Armin, as he ached and waited impatiently for Monday's meeting to come. Ever since his trauma had peaked in February, he had longed for the day of perfect justice to arrive, and every moment before it seemed to take forever.

Saturday night, when he fell asleep, Armin couldn't hope to predict the lucid vision-like dream that awaited him.

* * *

 _Armin found himself back in the strange theatre room, facing the massive blurred screen as he looked around. To his immediate left stood the woman who had showed him the soul mirror, wearing her dark blue robe and looking down at him sadly._

" _Do you understand why I had to show you that horrific image, child?" she asked him patiently._

" _Yes, Mama Mary," he answered, not willing to hold any anger against her. "I get it now. My own soul was getting marred by my hatred of those…people. And I'm so sorry."_

" _Remember, my child, that humility and remorse are vital antidotes for the soul. It is beyond important that you've addressed your hatred and begun to dispel it," she answered. "And I need to show you something just as important."_

 _Armin glanced at the screen, which was still nothing but a mess of swirling colors, and asked her "What is it?"_

" _The truth about Kayla," Mary answered softly, and even in the dream, Armin couldn't help but shudder._

" _What exactly am I going to see?" he asked._

" _Her past. That is to say, it is time that you see what pushed her to become the cruel girl you've had to face. Kayla's mother, Maggie, is the root of the girl's hatred."_

" _Oh no…" Armin murmured, as the screen finally began to coalesce into a comprehensible image._

 _Mary nodded and frowned bitterly as she held his hand in her own, facing the screen alongside them. Together, the two looked almost exactly like they had together that day far away in the past, when they had stood before the crowd in the farmer's market, ready to charge through and find his mother._

 _The screen focused, and the swirling colors gave way to the image of a nasty looking woman standing by a mailbox. Armin glanced up at Mary, and shuddered when he saw the fury etched on her usually serene features. She glared daggers at the woman on the screen, who could be seen viciously tearing up a letter._

"Stupid fucking faggot!" _they heard the woman snap as she finished destroying the letter._ "Can't get through his head that I'll never let him talk to Kayla ever again!"

" _Wait, what? Is this Kayla's mom?" he asked Mary, who was still seething with anger._

" _Yes, child. And that letter…was from Kayla's father, Harry, who happens to be gay. Harry has been trying to contact his daughter ever since he fled from Maggie's malice, but as you can see, she never allowed any such contact to happen."_

 _The screen blurred momentarily, and refocused to show Kayla, looking 10 years younger, sitting alone in her room, shaking and crying as she softly wailed._

"D-dad, come back!" _they heard Kayla plead._ "Come back and get me out of here!"

 _Despite everything the girl had put him through, Armin couldn't help but feel tears well up for the pain Kayla had evidently suffered._

" _Ever since Harry fled, and went to live with his new lover, Ethan, Maggie ensured that Harry never saw his daughter ever again," Mary explained to Armin. "And although Kayla pleaded with her, Maggie never gave her daughter the opportunity to find him."_

" _That monster!"_

" _It only gets worse, child."_

 _They watched the screen shift, and reveal a scene that looked to be five years later. A teenage Kayla stood quaking before her mother, who was snarling down at her._

"Listen up, you little shit!" _Maggie snapped._ "I've found out that this Christian high school had the audacity to take on two faggots for students, and they happen to be in your year."

"W-what does this have to do with me?" _Kayla asked._

"Oh please, you know exactly what your duty is. Those two cock-suckers have no right to live, just as your own trash father deserves to die for what he did to me. You will do everything you can to make their lives a living Hell, and ensure that the scum off themselves."

 _Kayla let out a horrified gasp, and told Maggie_ "I can't do that! Mom, what the hell?! What do they have to do with Dad?!"

" **DON'T TALK BACK TO ME, BRAT!** " _Maggie screamed, and to Armin's alarm, Kayla's mother slapped her hard across her face, instantly leaving a red mark._ "Your faggot father broke my heart! He, Ethan and all the other degenerates deserve nothing but death and pain for being the stain on this world that they are!"

 _Armin shuddered as he watched Kayla weep, and mumble_ "Nac and Mylius aren't responsible for Dad's choice, you know that!"

"So the fuck what?! Do as I say, or there's only going to be more punishment awaiting you!"

 _To his left, Armin heard Mary starting to cry softly. Armin groaned as it dawned on him what had drove Kayla to antagonize him from the first day in Sansburg Hall._

 _The next scene they saw looked too similar, with Kayla quaking before her mother, who was absolutely enraged._

"What the fuck is taking you so long?!" _Maggie shouted, and Kayla fumbled as she tried to answer._

"Me and Clair keep trying our hardest to make them hate themselves, we've been trying to get others to join in, but Nac and Mylius have each other, and that's why…their love for each other is preventing them from wanting to die."

"Then push harder! It's already April, and I expected you to get this done far before the spring came! You're already a failure!"

"But Mom-"

 _At that, Maggie seized her daughter's neck and throttled her violently. Armin could only watch as Kayla struggled against her mother's grip as Maggie shrieked in her face._

"DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO INTERRUPT ME! You will obey me, you will do whatever it takes to make them die, or I'll ensure that you suffer accordingly!"

 _As the violent scene began to shift, Armin felt himself starting to hyperventilate, his own tears spilling over. Mary quaked with grief and rage as the screen showed them the next moment in Kayla's past._

 _Kayla, in her house once more, was wearing the same horrifically triumphant sneer that Armin had seen on her face numerous times. Maggie let out a disturbing cackle as she praised her daughter._

"There we go. That's two less filthy faggots in this world."

"We finally pushed them to the brink, and now, any other faggot in that school will fear my group!" _Kayla responded._

"That's what I wanted to hear. Good. You may go now."

 _Armin watched Kayla walk away and upstairs, into her room, where she sat down on her bed. After a brief moment, Kayla began to monologue._

"Nac and Mylius are both dead. One by cutting, one by a gun to the mouth. Hopefully, Mom will leave me alone for a while."

 _And then, her sneer disappeared, and Kayla shakily asked herself_ "What would Dad think if he ever found out what Mom's ordering me to do?"

 _The screen scrambled the image, and when it reorganized itself, it showed her a few years older, standing with her Mom, and to Armin's disgust, Zach, the virulently homophobic bully who had tormented him in elementary school. Mary and Armin watched as Maggie withdrew from her pocket a brand-new pocketknife, which she handed to Zach, who was beside himself with glee._

"This is what you'll use to slit that dyke's throat," _Maggie proudly declared, and both Kayla and Zach sniggered as he fondled the knife._ "Kayla and Clair found out that Mina goes on nightly escapades to the park, so go there soon and obliterate that faggot from the face of the Earth!"

"Mina will never see him coming," _Kayla said, and her boyfriend gave them a malicious grin._

"In just a few days, that dyke will be left to rot in that park with nobody to miss her!" _he told them, and Maggie sneered satisfactorily as the image distorted and shifted again._

 _Before Armin could say anything, he flinched when the screen showed Kayla alone in Sansburg Hall after everybody else had left for winter break. The girl fled down the stairs with her suitcase and outside to her mom, who was waiting in her car impatiently._

 _Hardly a minute after they drove off, Maggie coldly asked her daughter_ "Well? What have you done about the blonde faggot on your floor?"

 _Armin watched Kayla, to his shock, mumble_ "Uh, about that. Things have…uh, changed-"

"What the hell do you mean, 'things have changed'?" _Maggie snapped back, her tone already descending into raw malice._

"Um, he turned out to be overly nice, he's been smiling at me a lot lately, and I don't feel good about wanting him to-"

 _Before Kayla could say anything else, Maggie slammed on the brakes, and started breathing heavily with rising fury as Kayla cowered in her seat. Maggie gripped the wheel hard enough to turn her knuckles bare-white as she yelled at her daughter._

"Are you seriously telling me that just because this cocksucker gave you one smile, you actually think he's worthy of kindness?"

 _Kayla tried to argue_ "But Mom, he's a really nice guy, and-"

 _At that, Maggie screamed_ " **DON'T YOU FUCKING TALK BACK TO ME, YOU LITTLE BITCH!"**

 _All Kayla could do was whimper in fear as Maggie yelled_ "Your degenerate father left you and me for an AIDS-filled pig, and even after remembering that, you have the **audacity** to think that any of these perverts deserve happiness?! I didn't suffer heartbreak at the hands of that treacherous flit for you to ever think that scum like him are good people! You and I are going to have a long talk about this when we get home! You clearly forgot how to properly deal with these trash when you graduated from high school."

"I-I'm sorry Mom, I'll try harder when I get back," _Kayla mumbled in response, and then, the screen faded to black._

 _Mary and Armin both sobbed bitterly, and Armin was at a loss for words after seeing how Kayla's own mother had tormented her for so long. He turned to Mary and tried to speak through his shock._

" _I…I don't understand!" he wailed. "How could a_ _ **mother**_ _do that to her own child?!"_

 _In response, Mary shouted "_ _ **That woman is no mother to ME!**_ _"_

 _She turned to Armin, and gently told him "Now you see the truth though, my child. Any attempt on Kayla's part to express mercy or compassion towards you, Mina, Nac or Mylius was met with physical, emotional abuse. Kayla was trained to be nothing but vile towards children like you, or risk Maggie's wrath."_

 _Armin groaned when he recalled the content of the Office of Student Conduct's email, and muttered "I'll have to deal with Maggie at that meeting…"_

 _Mary nodded, and told him "And as you can see, Maggie is the true monster behind all of the suffering Kayla's caused."_

 _She squeezed Armin's hand gently, and said "I showed you this not to ask you to excuse what Kayla's done to you, or anybody else for that matter. I showed you her past to explain to you that in a twisted way, Kayla is also a victim. I'm aware that you've only just begun letting go of your hate, but I beg you: will you forgive Kayla, not to justify what she's done, but for the sake of you both being victims of Maggie's cruelty?"_

 _Armin paused for a moment, and then told her "Yes. I forgive her. Because like you say, she's a victim too."_

 _He earned a sigh of relief from Mary, and around them, the theatre room started to fade out of sight as the dream ended. Before Armin woke up he heard her warn him softly._

" _When the meeting comes, be warned that Maggie will try to oppose you one last time."_

* * *

Armin's Sunday was a slow one, spent wandering around the campus aimlessly. Nothing special happened until he received a group text from Annie.

 **Annie:** _"Hey. I know that Armin's mediation thing is tomorrow, so why don't we all meet up in the library tonight to talk things over? There's a very real possibility that both Kayla and her stupid c—t of a mother will try to pull something one last time, and I want us to formulate a backup plan accordingly. Also, Armin, I want you to bring Reiner with you. It's probably a good idea to introduce him to Eren and Mikasa, not to mention, as your boyfriend, he should be in on this too."_

 **Eren:** _"Hell yes, I want to meet Armin's boytoy!"_

 **Mikasa:** _"Eren for crying out loud, don't go calling Armin's partner a 'boytoy', do you have any idea how embarrassed he would be if you said that to Reiner's face?"_

 **Eren:** _"Fine, fine, Mikasa. But yea, we really should meet up, to make sure that Armin isn't panicking."_

 **Armin:** _"Oi, I'm not panicking! But I definitely would appreciate that. Especially after the weird dream I had this morning."_

 **Annie:** _"Wait, another dream? Geez Armin, what the fuck are you eating at night?"_

 **Armin:** _"Nothing! I'll explain when I see you guys tonight."_

 **Annie:** _"Fair enough. I won't deny that you've piqued my curiosity, but it seems like you, me and too many other people have been having weird dreams lately."_

 **Mikasa:** _"It's decided then. Let's meet there around 9."_

 **Eren:** _"Sounds good!"_

 **Annie:** _"See you then. Armin, don't forget to bring Reiner with you."_

 **Armin:** _"Will do. See you all then."_

Later than night, Armin and Reiner walked together to the library as he told the tall blonde about his dream.

"It looks like Kayla's been coerced by her mom into doing everything she did. Even then, I'm having a hard time separating that from how willingly she went about hating me, Mina and everybody else."

"Well, yeah, Armin," Reiner said to him as they came up to the front doors of the library, "she made it clear that she truly wanted to hate you herself. So while I am sorry that she got abused, that doesn't excuse anything she did. It only explains her motives."

When they walked into the library's first-floor lounge, they found Annie, Mikasa and Eren sitting in the chairs at the far corner of the room, waiting for them. Reiner and Armin sat down with them, and Annie spoke up first.

"Guys, this is Reiner Braun, one of my classmates from my Christian high school. And, as you can clearly see from how much these two lovebirds are blushing right now, he's also Armin's lover."

"Annie!" Armin gasped, blushing an even deeper shade of crimson as Eren and Mikasa chortled.

"Sorry, my bad, you're still a virgin. But you all get what I mean."

Reiner bit his lip awkwardly and mumbled "Well, hey, guys. Uh, nice to meet ya!"

"It's our pleasure," Mikasa answered, giving Armin a satisfied smirk.

Eren ran his emerald eyes up and down Reiner's powerful physique, let out a sharp whistle, and told Armin "Damn, Armin, you picked up a real hunk of burnin' love right here! How have you managed to not go crazy and tap that yet?"

Mikasa cuffed him across the head, and said to Reiner "Ignore him, he may be lewd, but he's happy to meet you."

"Ha, I guess so!"

Armin shook his head in disbelief at how disorganized the meeting had become, and then, Annie clapped her hands, calling attention to her.

"Now then, to business. Let's be honest with ourselves here folks, knowing how far Kayla originally wanted to go in harming Armin, it's extremely likely that she'll try to kill him one last time, and as such, we need to be ready to intercept her tomorrow. I'll keep it simple: how comfortable are you three with homicide if necessary?"

Reiner gawked at her, but before he could give his input, Mikasa answered her coldly "Very comfortable. Though I'm aware that I need to draw a distinction between killing her in defense of Armin, and slaughtering her out of vengeance for what she did to him."

"I don't care that she's a girl, I'll beat her to a pulp if she tries to lay a finger on him!" Eren snarled.

Armin waved his hands at his friends, and told them "Quiet down guys, you'll freak out the whole library if you're not careful!"

"Fair point," Annie murmured in agreement. "We need to keep this lowkey, or somebody will blow this out of proportion."

Reiner asked them all "Guys, are you serious? You'd be willing to jump the gun that quickly and kill this girl?"

"You know what she did to him, Reiner," Annie snapped back. "And by now, you should know what she did to Mina, my other best friend. We have more than enough basis to assume that she'd stoop to one last chance to kill Armin, which she did intend to do at one point. You can call this extreme if you want, but as you can see, the three of us won't be swayed otherwise."

" _This is just like that one night back in February,"_ Armin silently mused, remembering the night Annie, Eren and Mikasa had plotted in the library to properly defend Armin during his escape from Sansburg Hall.

"And this time, Armin won't get busted with us, since he's not a resident enabling us to harm somebody else. If we do kill Kayla, Armin will still be able to walk away safely. And that's all I care about right now."

Armin turned to Reiner and told him "I promise you, I won't get upset if you're not willing to kill. You're a sweet guy through and through, and I know it isn't easy for you to get angry enough to want to physically hurt somebody. But they're right, Reiner, Kayla and her mother wouldn't have any qualms about hurting me before or after the meeting tomorrow."

"Then if they try it, they'll leave me no choice but to fight back," Reiner answered grimly, settling the matter.

"So be it," Annie said to the group. "It's settled then. When the four of us go with you to the Office tomorrow, Armin, we'll be on guard and ready to attack Kayla and her mother if they try anything."

She grimaced at him, and gently told him "You should go home and get whatever rest you can. I know that this is going to be stressful for you, so please try to rest up."

"You got that right," Armin told her, already anxious for the mediation to be over. "I'm so ready for this to end."

"So are we," Mikasa answered, and the rest of them nodded in agreement. "I'm so sick of psycho after psycho crawling out of the woodwork and trying to continue the shit you went through in Sansburg. This has been nothing but insanity, and I'm glad the university finally made a move."

"Let's go back to Wickson, buddy," Reiner told Armin. "You really do need to get a good night's rest. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, to put things very lightly."

Armin said to the rest of his friends "Goodnight guys, I'll see you tomorrow. Let's meet up outside Wickson and walk to the Office around 3:45."

"Sounds good, Armin," Annie said. "Now go on and rest your head for a while."

* * *

When Armin returned to room 327, he found Jean furiously packing up a suitcase. His roommate looked up at him and showed the desperation on his face.

"Sorry, Armin, I can't talk," he told Armin as he continued to jam clothes in his suitcase. "My mom pleaded me to come home asap, and she warned that I probably won't be back 'til next Wednesday. It looks like…grandpa's in his last moments."

"Oh, Jean…" Armin said softly as he closed the door behind him. "I'm so sorry."

"So am I, dude. So am I. But not to be callous, I'm so glad this isn't happening during finals week."

"True."

Only 15 minutes later, his roommate had busted out the room and out of sight, leaving Armin alone in his room once more. With exhaustion and worry over the coming meeting the following day weighing down on him, Armin collapsed on his bed, and quickly slipped into dreamless sleep.

* * *

Armin woke up hardly two hours after falling asleep, almost snapping straight up in bed, feeling a strange sense of urgency. He looked around, bewildered and confused, and gawked when he realized that he had another nighttime visitor.

The mysterious man who had saved Armin from his kidnappers was standing next to his bed, towering over him, and adorned in blue-gold armor that softly glinted in the moonlight seeping through the window. William Arlert's doppelganger wasn't wearing a police uniform this time, and without the same sunlit glow surrounding him, Armin was finally able to look his guardian in the face.

"I-it's you!" Armin muttered softly, trying to fight off his exhaustion.

He got a gentle smile from his visitor, and the man said back "Hey buddy. It's been a long time."

After he let out a small yawn, Armin asked him "Who are you, exactly? I thought for sure that when you came to rescue me all those years ago, you were my dad. Heck, back then, when you had that glow around you, I couldn't tell the difference, and when dad said that it wasn't him, I thought he was being too humble. And now…"

Armin made an awkward, sheepish gesture at the man's armor, and said "I don't think I've ever seen a fully armored warrior in real life!"

The man chuckled deeply and told him "Well, Armin, I really don't see the point in beating around the bush. My name's Michael."

"Wait, so you're-"

"Yes, bud," the warrior answered. " **I'm** **Michael the Archangel**."

It explained too much, given the police uniform that he had originally been seen in, and the clear protector role that he had taken for Armin when the boy had been kidnapped.

Michael knelt down next to Armin's bed, and told him "I'm here to ensure that you're ready for tomorrow, Armin. And there's one thing you need to know, not necessarily about Kayla. I can tell that Mary took care of that part quite well."

"I'm still horrified by what she showed me," Armin whispered, barely avoiding getting choked up again. "I mean, her own mother, doing that to her…I thought moms were supposed to be all-loving and stuff!"

"I know, buddy," Michael answered him, grimacing as he spoke. "But don't worry, we're going to make sure that after this, Kayla is freed from Maggie's poisonous grasp."

Armin cocked his head up at him questionably, and asked him "What's going to happen tomorrow?"

"Maggie and Kayla both will show up at this mediation meeting. I want you to know, buddy, that Maggie will prove herself to be the true monster here. While Kayla has the barest shreds of remorse for what she's done, Maggie feels nothing. Rather, she refuses to. One could almost call her a sociopath for her refusal to feel guilt for the death she's caused."

"What will Maggie try to do, though?"

"Antagonize you, provoke you, and attempt to make you lose your cool. Do your best to ignore her, and try to focus on Kayla's trauma. If you manage to focus on Kayla, you'll end up helping her accept that she needs to abandon her mother."

"If that's what you need me to do, I'll do it. I can't lie though…" Armin bit his lip, looked up at Michael shyly and admitted "It feels really weird, needing to be any sort of an advocate for the girl that apparently wanted me dead."

Michael nodded down at him solemnly and told him "That's to be expected, Armin. From what I've seen, even praying for your enemies is difficult to do at first. But I assure you, you'll feel so much better after you've done it. When you know that you can care even about people that lashed out at you, when you know that you can see into their own pain and want to help them accordingly, you become a very pure heart in His eyes."

"A pure heart…" Armin mumbled, and Michael gave him a sad, pity-filled look, knowing what was about to be said.

Armin refused to look up at him as he said "How can I come close to caring about Kayla like I'm needed to, when…I reveled in the mere idea of them dying violently for what they did to me?"

"What I'm trying to say is… **am I a bad person for hating all of them so badly?** " Armin asked, and then, his tears began to flow once more.

"Oh, buddy…" Michael said softly, and he bent forward, enveloping Armin in the same protective embrace that he had given to him all those years ago.

Armin clung back, wrapping his feeble arms around Michael's armor as he sobbed, finally letting out all of his guilt over the hideous grudges he had held.

Michael continued to hold him close as he told Armin "Listen to me carefully, ok? You've made it very clear that you know you were wrong in what you wanted to do to them. It's obvious, like Mary said, that you have deep remorse for all of that, and you want to improve. You're not a bad person, buddy. You just made a very bad, very sinful mistake that you're working to correct, and that's what matters, that you want to improve."

"O-ok," Armin answered, relieved to have confessed what was burdening him.

The warrior told Armin "Now look at me, buddy," and Armin complied, staring up at him as Michael continued to speak.

"About the thing I came to tell you…it's about Zach, and it's two-fold. One, me and your father's apprentice, Anastasia, arrested him a few nights ago for the murder of Mina Carolina."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Armin said in relief.

"I know. And two…I'm very sorry, because this is bound to gross you out. Zach… **Armin, he's the son of Bill, the same monster who nearly beat your godfather Joey to death all those years ago**."

Armin groaned in disgust, and told him "You know, I don't think I'm that surprised. It makes perfect sense. Let me guess, Bill must've found out that the son of the man who humiliated him was in the same school as his own child, and told Zach to attack me for revenge?"

"That's it exactly, buddy."

"Wow, that's sickening. Making me a target, when I had **nothing** to do with him getting his ass beaten. What a monster."

"But rest assured, neither Bill nor Zach will be a threat to you ever again," Michael said. "Zach will spend the rest of his life in jail, and as such, Bill's cowardice won't allow him to act up ever again. All that's left, buddy, is to face Maggie tomorrow. Let's get you back to sleep, ok?"

Armin yawned again and mumbled sleepily "Absolutely. I'm ready to end this."

"So am I, Armin," the angel answered as he gently laid Armin back on his bed and watched the boy near instantly fall back asleep, "so am I."


	4. The Final Confrontation

**Trigger Warning: Minor Scene of Domestic Abuse**

The next day, Armin, Annie, Reiner, Mikasa and Eren all walked together to the Office of Student Conduct, a small brick building tucked away in the middle of campus. They arrived minutes before the meeting was supposed to start, all of them on edge, ready for the moment of truth to come at last.

Mikasa looked around them warily and asked aloud "Have they come yet?"

Her question was answered when they saw Kayla coming their way, next to a scowling woman who could only be her mom, Maggie. The woman's face was lined with deep wrinkles, giving her a severely aged appearance. Armin and his friends tensed up even further as they watched his enemies approach.

" _Looks like all of her cruelty's taken a toll on her,"_ Armin mused coldly as the pair of homophobic women came to a halt in front of them.

Maggie sneered at Armin, and Eren snapped at her "Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face, you old hag, or I'll punch it off instead!"

Armin noticed that Kayla only glared at them, seemingly refusing to stick up for her mom. Maggie snarled at their group, and snapped back.

"Watch your mouth, you little brat! I happen to still be in my prime, and I didn't come here to waste my time on idiots like you!"

To Armin's left, Annie uttered a cold, harsh laugh in response, and said to Maggie "Oh, that's rich. You're accusing us of potentially 'wasting your time', when you and your piece of trash daughter have wasted innocent lives for your sick games. You're a damn hypocrite, and I'm going to revel in the justice that awaits you beyond these doors!"

"Fat chance, you stupid girl. Faggots don't get justice!"

"Oh, I'm afraid they do, you miserable c—t," Annie replied, sneering at Maggie as she went on. "Mina Carolina's mom told me that Zach, Kayla's oh-so precious boyfriend was apprehended for murdering my best friend. And it stands to reason that you two are bound for jail next."

"Bullshit!" Maggie answered, though they could all see that she was now beginning to sweat in anxiety. "Neither me nor my daughter are at any risk for jail when there's no proof of our involvement!"

"Oh please, like it's any secret at this point that you helped Zach kill her. You're a joke, you, Kayla, and Zach too. Not to mention…"

Annie turned her sneer to Kayla, who was quaking in her shoes, and hissed "I already know that you, Shane and that moron Clair are all going to be kicked out of this campus forever for what you trash tried to do to Armin."

Reiner pulled Armin close to him in a strong side hug, and snapped at Maggie "I'll never let either of you lay a finger on this kid ever again!"

"Neither will I," Mikasa joined in, her composure darkening as her murderous rage seeped out. "Give me an excuse to snap your necks, I **beg** you."

Before any other heated words could be exchanged, the front doors to the Office banged open, and a short man who must've been the mediator shouted at them "It's time for the meeting! Armin, Kayla, ma'am, please come inside."

Maggie seized Kayla's arm and led her towards the Office, sneering at Armin again as she walked away, with Kayla in tow, looking gloomy. Armin turned to his friends and gritted his teeth, having to fight the urge to scream at Kayla's horrible mother.

"It's gonna be ok, buddy," Reiner assured him, slowly releasing Armin from his embrace and patting him on the back. "We'll be right here, waiting for you to come out."

"Are you sure you don't any of us in there with you?" Mikasa worriedly asked.

Eren cracked his knuckles and told Armin "Yeah, Armin, let me in there and give me a chance to take that bitch down a peg!"

Armin shook his head and said to them "It's ok, guys. I'm not afraid. And after all of the odd experiences I've been through lately…I know I'm not alone."

He saw Annie give him a knowing, peaceful smile, and she said to him "Go on, Armin."

With that, Armin left his friends and walked towards the Office, ready to see justice be served.

* * *

In the mediation room of the Office, Armin, Kayla, Maggie and the mediator sat around a small round table, and the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Armin looked as stoic as he could be, eyeing Kayla's sadistic mother with disdain, the memory of the God-sent dream vision still flashing through his mind.

" _You. You're the one who taught Kayla to do what she did._ _ **Monster**_ _."_

Kayla was glaring him down, but Armin could see that she was also sweating nervously, and with his newfound knowledge, he couldn't hope to blame her. She was seated next to her abusive, unloving mother, and it was likely that Maggie had threatened her to not fail her "duty" before the meeting had begun.

Maggie's malicious sneer didn't budge, even when the mediator cleared his throat and said "Let's begin."

"Ma'am, our Office of Student Conduct has received various reports, along with affirming evidence, that your daughter harassed Armin Arlert, and encouraged many of the students on his floor to follow suit. We are here today to decide what consequences will take place as a result of Kayla's choices."

Maggie laughed harshly, and told him "Not until I see the evidence. I won't tolerate baseless claims against my daughter."

The man grimaced, and Armin watched as he withdrew several enlarged photos from the manila folder he had carried in with him. The mediator spread the photos out across the table, and Kayla's eyes widened in shock at the recognition of the notes that she had written to spread her cruelty across the 4th floor of Sansburg hall.

"Kayla, were you the one who wrote these?" the mediator coolly asked her, his disgust barely hidden.

Maggie glared daggers at her daughter, who was now sweating profusely. Kayla's eyes darted around the room, coming to land on Armin. He held her gaze evenly, and inclined his head firmly, giving her a silent warning that if she didn't comply, it would only get worse for her.

Kayla gulped and sheepishly muttered "Y-yeah. I wrote those. But how did you-"

"Your RHD, Levi Ackerman, received these screenshots of your notes from an anonymous source."

Armin saw Kayla's face contort into sheer anger, and she snarled "Elise!"

"What? What the hell is he talking about?!" Maggie asked her daughter, who was fuming.

"It was Elise! She fled the floor a while back, and this must be why! Traitor!"

Maggie growled low in her throat, and snarled "That girl's gonna-"

"Don't even think about it."

Everybody turned alarmed faces to Armin, who was glaring at Kayla's mother with seething contempt. He wouldn't tolerate the wretched woman antagonizing Elise, who had successfully redeemed herself by aiding Armin in his pursuit of the truth. The story of Mina Carolina's demise was still weighing heavily on his soul, and the knowledge that Maggie had blatantly encouraged her daughter to make the tragedy happen made her even more of a monster in his eyes.

"As if I'd let you hurt her. You've caused me, Elise, Mina Carolina, those two boys, and even your own daughter so much pain, all because of your pathetic grudge against your ex-husband. You make me sick! And I'll do whatever it takes to stop you from creating any more victims!"

Kayla was flabbergasted, and she muttered to him "W-what? How do you know about-"

"Watch your mouth, you filthy faggot!" Maggie screamed at him, her face turning beet-red.

" **Enough!** " the mediator shouted, silencing everybody else. "We are here to decide what justice will take place, not to argue! And you, ma'am, I suggest for you and your daughter's sake that you remain quiet until this is over, unless you want to deepen her punishment even further than it already is."

With the renewed silence in the room, the mediator took out a detailed form with massive amounts of words typed out on it, and Armin knew with a pitfall in his stomach that Kayla's punishment had already been decided.

"This office has carefully reviewed the evidence, Armin's own report of what happened to him, along with the supporting testimony of the person who supplied RHD Levi with those photos. Kayla attempted to drive Armin to commit suicide, deliberately attempted to create a harassing, oppressing environment on the 4th floor of Sansburg Hall, and has been plotting to harm or even kill Armin after he left. As such, we recommend her immediate expulsion from this campus, and from all academic pursuits herein."

Kayla gasped in horror, and Maggie screamed at the mediator "What?! That's ridiculous!"

The man told her coldly "No, actually, it isn't. Your daughter deliberately violated the Student Code of Conduct in numerous ways, despite knowing the consequences. She has posed a major threat to the wellbeing of Armin Arlert, and if I'm not mistaken, numerous other students too.

"And ma'am, I recommend that you be careful where you tread right now, because this office has also received vital reports about similar incidents that occurred in your daughter's high school a few years ago. Each of the reports we've received gave validity to everything we know about Armin's case. Those reports of students committing suicide after severe bullying based on their sexual orientation, and the murder of the lesbian student in that park? You and your daughter both could be facing legal punishment for your involvements in those crimes."

Armin watched Kayla's face turn sheet white, and despite everything she had done to him, he still felt the smallest twang of pity for her, knowing that her life was now effectively ruined by her choices. Maggie was breathing hard, struggling not to scream. Her hate-filled gaze had landed on him, and Armin glared back at her, with no pity to spare for the woman who had encouraged so much needless suffering to come about.

"This is all your fault!" Maggie shouted at him, and before the mediator could retort, Armin shot back at her.

"No, it's **yours**. I know what you did to Kayla, you sick freak. I know that you deliberately cut her off from her gay dad, all because you hated him for leaving you. You're pathetic! You taught her to hate every single LGBT person she's come across, just so that you could feel some sick form of vindication! No wonder Harry left you for Ethan!"

Kayla was gawking at him, and Armin turned to her, his pity welling up as he spoke to her softly and gently.

"Kayla…you never stopped loving your dad, did you? All this time, after all those years of being separated from him, you still ache to see him again, right?"

She registered his words, and tears quickly welled up in her eyes as he went on.

"Nothing can hope to excuse what you've done to me, Mina, and everybody else that you've targeted. That being said, I finally understand why you are the way you are. I get it now. You probably felt like you had no other choice but to do what your mom taught you to do. If you didn't, you wouldn't have felt loved by her, and she probably would've hurt you further. I'm so sorry. You deserved so much better than to have such a monster for a mother."

Maggie snarled at him, but Armin ignored her. Kayla was now sobbing profusely, and there was no hate in the gaze she looked at him with. All Armin could see was the broken, scared girl he had seen in his dream, the girl who only wanted to see her father again.

He stood up from the table, and gently told her "It's never too late, Kayla. You still have the chance to change. Even after all of this, it's still possible for you to cast all of this behind you, and become a better person. You can still see your dad, you can still find him. This woman can't stop you from seeing him forever."

Armin turned to the mediator, and said to him "Thank you, for everything. Am I good to go?"

The man, stunned after Armin's words, muttered "Uh, yeah, you're good to go."

Armin walked out of the room, and towards the exit, where Annie, Reiner, Eren and Mikasa were waiting impatiently. He heard the mediator follow suit, walking away towards the main room of the office, where he would no doubt file Kayla's recommendation for expulsion into the system.

* * *

In the mediation room, Kayla and Maggie were still sitting around the table, speechless after the words that Armin had spoken. Neither of them could hope to understand where he had gotten his knowledge of Harry and the others from. Kayla was still crying softly, and Maggie was sneering at her cruelly.

"I thought I taught you to hate that cocksucker. I warned you that I'll never love you if you disobey me. So what the hell is he talking about?" she sinisterly asked her daughter.

Kayla mumbled "I-I don't-"

"If I find out that you've been babbling about me to anybody, especially him, I'll punish you worse than ever before. Now then."

Maggie seized her daughter by the arm, and dragged her out of the room, and to a discreet corner of the office building, where the Office members wouldn't see what was about to transpire. Out of her pocket, she withdrew a small silver pocketknife, and Kayla shuddered violently at the recognition of the blade that had claimed Mina's life. Maggie took her daughter's hand, and pressed the cold item into her palm, glaring into her eyes as she did.

"This is your final chance, brat. Go end that faggot once and for all, or I'll give you nothing but pain for being the failure that you are. **Now do it!** "

* * *

Armin walked out of the Office to see his friends running up to him, looking utterly anxious. He grinned, gave them a thumbs up, and at once, they relaxed.

"Is it finally finished?" Reiner asked him, clasping a large hand on Armin's frail shoulder.

"Yes, thank goodness," Armin answered, relieved to finally be done with the trauma of Sansburg Hall. "She's…well, she's going to be expelled, without a doubt. The evidence that Elise provided ruined any chance Kayla had to escape expulsion."

"Good." Annie had another sneer on her face as she glared at the building, where Kayla still hadn't exited. "She deserves far worse for what she's done to you, Mina, and the two gay guys from our high school. I hope that bitch gets locked up."

"She just might, Annie. After all, Zach got arrested just a few days ago by my dad's apprentice. It's likely that Kayla's next on the chopping block."

Mikasa breathed a huge sigh of relief, and said to him "I'm glad that this is done for good. This feels like it's been dragged out for too long. I would've been livid if the university officials had tried to act apathetic in any part of this!"

"Me too!" Eren barked. "Those bastards got what they deserved!"

Armin yawned, and told them "Let's go back to Wickson Hall and relax now, guys. Heck, let's consider going out for dinner, I could really use an outing after this nonsense."

"That would be nice," Reiner murmured, and the five of them began walking across the street towards Armin's dorm.

Just as they crossed the street, they heard somebody nearby shriek "Look out behind you!"

At once, the friends whirled around to behold Kayla charging forward, looking deranged, and holding a pocketknife poised to strike.

Behind her, at the entrance of the Office, Maggie stood sneering triumphantly. Armin snarled at her, knowing that Maggie had no doubt coerced her daughter into one last suicidal attempt to kill him.

" **YOU'RE DEAD, YOU FUCKING C—T!** " Annie shrieked, crouching into an attack position and ready to charge at her.

Eren, Mikasa and Reiner grabbed Armin and yanked him behind them, forming a wall of protection between him and Kayla, who they could now see was sobbing madly as she ran forward.

Before Annie could charge at her, seemingly out of nowhere, a police cruiser came veering towards them, and stopped right in front of Kayla, who was now frozen in alarm. An imposing policewoman threw open the cruiser door and stormed up to Kayla, seizing her wrist and ripping the pocketknife out of her clutches.

Kayla didn't budge a muscle as the woman, who Armin recognized as his dad's apprentice Anastasia, snapped at her "Ma'am, you are under arrest for being an accessory in the murder of Mina Carolina, and for attempted assault against Armin Arlert."

They all watched Kayla slump in defeat, and Armin knew that she wouldn't put up a fight. Lieutenant Anastasia bound Kayla's hands in cuffs, and led her to the cruiser, where she locked the girl in the back.

In front of the Office, Maggie was now horrified, and quaked in her boots when Anastasia turned her furious gaze on her. The Lieutenant charged at her, and before Maggie could run, the policewoman had her bound similarly with cuffs.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Maggie screamed, trying in vain to escape her bondage.

"Likewise, you are under arrest for being an accessory in the murder of Mina Carolina," Anastasia answered her coldly, as she dragged Kayla's mother to the cruiser.

"You don't have any damn proof!" Maggie shrieked, and Anastasia sneered at her.

"Wrong. My department got a warrant to review your online conversations with your daughter, along with her conversation with the murderer, Zach. We found recurring evidence that you deliberately supplied him with the murder weapon, the pocketknife that your daughter was just now wielding, and that you instructed her and Zach on how to hunt Mina down. You're coming with me, and you'll be prosecuted just like those two."

Armin's friends gasped together in horrified realization that the same weapon used to murder Mina would've been the same thing used to claim Armin's life. While he watched Anastasia drag Maggie to the cruiser, Armin kept his snarl on his face, disgusted that Kayla had likely been forced to attack him one last time by her violently abusive mother.

He felt a strong, warm hand pat him on the back, and Armin whirled around to behold Michael smiling down at him, standing at his full height in his police uniform and glowing slightly, his steel-grey eyes brimming with warmth. None of Armin's friends, nor anybody else in the area seemed to notice his presence.

"It's gonna be ok, buddy," the angel whispered to him tenderly. "This is what was meant to happen."

"Will Kayla be ok?" Armin asked, no longer feeling anything but pity for the broken girl.

"Yes, my buddy. She will get the justice she needs too, I promise. After this, that scumbag of a mother won't be able to harm her ever again. It's finally finished."

Armin sighed softly, beamed up at his guardian and said to him "Thank you, always."

Michael tussled Armin's hair gently, and as he started to fade from sight, told him "Always, buddy."

After watching the angel disappear, Armin turned around as he heard the cruiser revving, and watched alongside his friends as Anastasia drove away, taking Kayla and Maggie back to Mina's hometown.

" _It's over,"_ Armin mused quietly as his friends pumped their fists in the air victoriously. _"All of them got dealt with justly, and I'm safe. I'm relieved that Kayla got dealt with for what she did, but…I can't deny that I'm happy her mother won't be able to abuse her anymore. It looks like Maggie was the real monster after all."_


	5. Annie's Recollection

_Just like that, the last of Armin's enemies were brought to a humiliating defeat._

 _Oh, I was so ready to slaughter that bitch like the pig she made herself out to be. If it hadn't been for Lieutenant Anastasia, Kayla's blood would've been on my hands that day. Thankfully, that ended up not being necessary._

 _Now, I suppose, reader, you want me to discuss what Armin eventually revealed about her. Fine. Let's talk about that then._

 _During finals week that semester, Armin pulled the four of us aside and fully discussed what he had learned about Kayla's past. He held nothing back in his descriptions of Maggie's physical, verbal and emotional abuse of her own daughter._

 _I won't deny that I was horrified. I've never known my mother, nor have I ever known what it's like to have a mother. But far better to never have one to begin with, than to have a monster like Maggie constantly controlling everything you do and say._

 _So yes, I feel some pity for Kayla. But I'm still working on forgiving her. It's been five years since that shit went down, and I still haven't fully let go of her choices._

 _Look, I get that she was coerced. I'm not trying to ignore that. But it was the sheer malice, the glee, the obvious willingness to hurt Armin, Mina, Nac and Mylius that I can't forget. While she may have been forced to do what she did, she clearly enjoyed, on some part, inflicting pain on them. Until I let go of that obvious truth, my heart won't be able to forgive Kayla entirely._

 _That being said…let's talk next about what happened in court._

 _Oh yes, Maggie and Kayla were taken to court by none other than Joey, Armin's godfather and the secret past lover of William Arlert. Joey acted as the prosecutor for both Armin and Helen, who was aching to see justice be done for her beloved daughter at last. The hearing took place in July of that year, and although I couldn't attend, I told those two that my heart would be with them as they looked those vile women in the eyes._

 _But goodness, nobody was prepared for what happened that day._

 _Now, don't freak out. Nobody got hurt. It's just…Kayla proved all of us wrong, and this time, it was in a good way._

 _I don't have a damn clue what happened to her in the interim period between her arrest and the court date. It was clear, however, that Kayla had a change of heart that enabled her to turn on her own mother when it was time for her account to be given._

 _According to both Helen and Armin, without any warning, Kayla wailed to the presiding judge that her mother had forced her to commit these atrocities under threat of violent repercussions. Kayla had a horrific breakdown in the courtroom, and begged the judge to not put her in the same cell, or anywhere near Maggie, because she was truly terrified that her mother would take revenge on her._

 _Well, the judge, who happens to be a longstanding expert on domestic abuse, immediately recognized the telltale signs of an abuse victim, and put the hearing on hold for another week. While Armin, Helen and the jury waited to reconvene, a separate investigation went underway to see if Kayla wasn't blowing anything out of proportion._

 _She wasn't, as it turns out. That dream-vision Armin had was deadly accurate._

 _They got the warrants necessary to look into Maggie and Kayla's phones, messaging, along with the security camera footage in the Office of Student Conduct from the day of the mediation. The officials discovered, to everybody's alarm, that not only had Maggie coerced Kayla into harming gay students for several years under threat of severe bodily harm, she had cornered her daughter in the Office, and forced her to attack Armin._

 _Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Obviously, I was ready to obliterate her when we saw her charging at Armin. But I can't forget the look on her face. There wasn't any hatred, any cruelty. Just insane grief and terror._

 _Also, Kayla's attorney, who gladly refused to advocate for Maggie as well after learning of this truth, contacted Helen and asked her if she was willing to settle a plea deal. Helen was told of everything behind Kayla's motives, and not even she could ignore the horrible knowledge that a mother had been so willing to torment her daughter like that. The memory of her ex-husband Frank's malice towards Mina was likely the deciding factor in Helen choosing to give Kayla mercy._

 _As such, when the court reconvened, Kayla's abuse and mental damage was taken into account before setting forth her punishment. She pleaded guilty to all charges against her, while also admitting that if she hadn't attacked her victims, her mother would've beaten her instead. Although Kayla had been charged with being an accessory in the murder of Mina, along with plotting severe harm and murder against Armin, because of her status as a domestic abuse victim, her sentence was reduced to a measly 10 years._

 _Was I upset about that? Honestly, it's hard for me to say. Obviously, I initially wanted Kayla dead, or locked up for life after what she did. But knowing what I know now about her, it's probably better this way._

 _And despite my contempt for her, I'll admit this too: I sincerely hope that she finds her father one day. I can't even imagine what that was like, being separated from Harry by Maggie's hatred and jealousy._

 _In an odd way, I guess you could say that Kayla is in a better, safer place now. She's serving her time in a separate facility that's about 50 miles away from her mother's. Maggie, for what she did to her daughter, and for also being an undeniable accessory in Mina's death by deliberately providing the murder weapon along with instructions on murdering my best friend, was given life in prison. I assure you that nobody feels bad for her._

 _You might be wondering about the fates of the others. Shane and Clair were both summarily expelled from the university before that semester finished. Nobody cared that Clair was comatose when the punishment was given, and her parent's complaints as such did nothing to abate the official decision._

 _I believe that Ben, a distant family friend of the Arlerts, along with being William Arlert's high school love interest, used his status as a state official to push the university to not let up on the severity needed after what Armin suffered._

 _Then, there's Elise to talk about._

 _Because she came forward and arguably saved Armin's life with the vital information she provided, she was only given probation for the next semester, and was ordered to write Armin a letter apologizing for everything. She took her minor punishment gladly, and without complaints._

 _Honestly, I'm glad she got let off easily, compared to Clair and Shane. If it wasn't for her, I could've lost Armin too, and I'm sincerely grateful for her brave choice to betray Kayla and ensure that justice was done._

 _After that battle was finally finished, Armin and Reiner bonded even deeper, and entered into a beautiful relationship that would later blossom into true love. Three years after the events surrounding Armin's pain in Sansburg Hall, after both he and Reiner had graduated and realized that they definitely wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, Armin was given a gloriously poetic moment to cherish forever._

 _Three summers after his pain ended, on a warm midsummer's evening in the same park where William Arlert had proposed to Eleanor "Ellie" Arlert, Reiner Braun proposed to my best friend, and of course, Armin said yes._

 _To say that we were happy for them would be a severe understatement. Ever since we had entered each other's life, Armin had made it clear to me that loneliness was something be both feared and suffered constantly, and who could blame him? So to see him this happy, knowing that he'll never be lonely ever again, was a major blessing for me and the rest of his loved ones._

 _A year after Reiner proposed, amidst exuberant joy and celebrated within the gorgeous stained-glass adorned walls of Armin's affirming church, the two lovers were joined together in marriage, a memory that none of us will ever forget._


	6. The Wedding

The pews of the sanctuary were filled with the family and friends of Reiner and Armin, everybody chatting away excitedly as they waited for the smaller boy to process in. At the front, in front of the altar, Reiner stood tall and handsome in a black and brown tuxedo, grinning as he waited for his lover to enter.

On Reiner's left stood Bert, Connie and Marco, his groomsmen, grinning from ear to ear as they waited. To his right stood Annie, Mikasa and Eren, the three of them thrilled to finally see their best friend get hitched.

At last, the main doors of the sanctuary were opened, and at once, the crowd ceased all noise as they beheld Armin Arlert walking in with his grandpa holding his hand. The boy was holding a bouquet of dusty-blue Chinese bellflowers, a symbol for undying love recommended by Helen, who was watching him eagerly with Elise by her side in one of the right-side pews.

"Let's do this, grandpa," Armin whispered with encouragement.

"Yes, my boy," John Arlert whispered back, and they began their slow but steady ascent to the altar.

The crowd watched with bated breath as Armin finally approached his soon-to-be husband and stood before him, as the priest, a kindly old man, gestured that the ceremony was about to begin.

"We are gathered here today to witness the bonding of these two children of God, Reiner Braun and Armin Arlert, together in Holy Matrimony," the priest declared loudly, his deep voice echoing to the top of the ceiling. "Let the ring bearer come forth!"

The crowd turned around, and saw Sasha Braus walking in shyly, carrying a cushion bearing two golden rings. She gradually made her way up to the altar, and the two grooms took their respective rings from the cushion.

"Do you, Reiner Braun, take Armin Arlert to be your lawful husband 'til death do you part?"

"I do," Reiner said softly as he placed the ring on Armin's right ring finger.

"And do you, Armin Arlert, likewise, take Reiner Braun to be your lawful husband 'til death do you part?"

"I do," Armin answered, blushing as he also put his ring on Reiner's right ring finger.

The priest beamed at them, and loudly declared to the crowd "I now pronounce you husbands bound together in matrimony!"

At once, the crowd erupted into cheers and whoops of immense joy as Reiner and Armin exchanged a long, tender kiss. When they broke away, they led each other hand-in-hand towards the outside of the sanctuary, both of them ready to escape for a while and enjoy a moment of solitude.

"Armin, toss the flowers!" somebody in the audience shouted, and Armin froze up in embarrassment, realizing that he was still clutching his bouquet of bellflowers.

He turned abruptly around, and tossed the flowers as far as he could. Armin and Reiner watched expectantly as the blue bouquet sailed across the sanctuary, before landing in the hands of an unexpected couple.

Marco and Bert, who had been filing out of the sanctuary, had unwittingly caught the flowers together, Marco bumping into Bert and looking up at him in awe as the taller guy gazed down at him with rapidly reddening cheeks.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Reiner muttered as the entire sanctuary watched the pair try to talk to each other with extreme fluster. "Bert, and Marco Bodt?"

"I guess so," Armin told him, equally confused on the turn of events. "But hey, those two together wouldn't be half-bad, if you know what I mean."

He looked up at the altar one last time, and Armin took a sharp breath as he saw his father, mother and grandmother standing at the top step, looking at him with raw expressions of love as proud tears streamed down their faces. John Arlert, stuck in the middle of the aisle amidst the churning crowd, gazed at Armin with a knowing smile on his wrinkled face.

Flanking his loved ones at the altar was Michael, standing tall and regal in his blue-gold armor, grinning down at Armin with a twinkle in his grey eyes. Next to him stood the Watcher, wearing a smirk of satisfaction as she nodded at him.

To his family's left stood Mary in her blue cloak, smiling lovingly at him as she silently gestured to the three youth surrounding her.

Armin felt tears bud up in the corners of his eyes as he recognized Nac, Mylius and Mina beaming at him and Reiner. His husband looked down at him worriedly, but Armin shook his head gently and grinned up at him.

"Everybody's here, and it feels so good knowing that."


	7. Epilogue

_There you have it, reader. This finishes the story of Armin Arlert, the boy was wounded by the cruelty in several people's hearts, but overcame that and found love._

 _In case you're wondering, I did too, and from a…well, let's call it a completely unexpected source. Quite frankly, nobody was prepared for me to fall in love together with this dork. But hey, he matured in his own right, and not even his foster-sister has anything bad to say about us._

 _When the spring comes this year, I, too, will be joined together with the love of my life, just as Armin and Reiner are now._

 _I call this the biggest plot twist of my life, to be honest. I mean, I don't like people. In fact, I've wondered if by definition, I hate people. It doesn't take much for me to realize that simply being a student in that Christian high school, and seeing how the hypocrites treated the 'outcasts' likely led to me becoming a temporary misanthropist. So for me to have the patience to allow anybody, especially a straight guy into my life like this, clearly this is a damned miracle._

 _Now then, this is goodbye. Whoever you are, thank you for taking the time to read this journal, and for learning about how severely homophobic hatred can manifest at times. My hope as a Psychologist finally equipped with her Master's Degree is to use what I've learned to both help repressed LGBTQ people accept themselves, along with wiping out any traces of phobia in the patients I deal with._

 _No matter who or what tries to stand in my way, I intend to do everything in my power to prevent another tragedy from occurring. I will honor Mina, Nac, Mylius, and all the other victims of cruelty that suffer at the hands of vermin like Maggie and the rest. I, Annie Leonhardt, will not rest until I've obliterated that hatred from the face of the Earth._

* * *

Annie gently closed the journal and placed it carefully back on her desk, stretching her arms and letting out a yawn. After being prompted months prior by several people including Armin himself, she had finally finished writing down Armin's story.

Everything that he had told her, from the supernatural visitations, his eerily lucid dreams, and the secret knowledge he had gained from those events had undeniably shaken her; but nonetheless, Annie had completed her task to the best of her ability.

" _It's time for us to get to the Jaeger house,"_ she mused, grabbing her "ugly" Christmas sweater and pulling it over her head. _"This Christmas party will be a blast, I'm sure of it!"_

There was a knock on her bedroom door, and then, Eren entered, wearing a forest-green sweater with a knitted image of Santa and his reindeer. Eren grinned at Annie, and she winked slyly at him as she rose.

"Let's get going, babe!"

"Yes, indeed," she said grabbing his hand as they walked out the bedroom and towards the front door. "It would be rude to keep them waiting."

Annie glanced at the engagement ring on her right hand and smiled to herself, secretly aching for the spring to come.

When they arrived at the Jaeger house, Carla and Grisha greeted them warmly, hugging both of them close and welcoming them inside. Their house had been decorated top to bottom with zillions of Christmas lights and various Santa paraphernalia.

"Hey, Mom and Dad!" Eren said as his eyes scoured for the beer. "Where did you guys hide the alcohol?"

"No German beer for you this time, Eren," Carla told him firmly, eliciting a groan from Eren and a chuckle from her husband. "I won't allow you to make the same mistake you made at New Year's five years ago!"

Inside, Annie and Eren found the couples chatting idly as they munched on Carla's delicious concoctions. In the corner, Ymir was chuckling darkly about something that made Krista's cheeks blush scarlet; no doubt, it was something explicitly sexual.

By the couches, Marco and Bert, who had hit it off ever since their beautifully awkward moment at Armin's wedding, were talking quietly with each other, their eyes gleaming with adoration as they looked into each other's faces.

Mikasa and Jean, a combination that had alarmed them all, especially Eren, stood by the fireplace, sipping hot cocoa and smirking as they talked about what must've been the vermin from the Sansburg Hall era.

And in the middle of the room stood Armin and Reiner, holding each other in a tight embrace and oblivious to the other people around them.

When Eren and Annie walked up to them, the blonde pair grinned at them, enamored with each other and hopelessly lost in the depths of their love.

"Hey, you two!" Armin greeted them, joyful and without a trace of his former sadness. "It's good to see you again!"

"Right back atcha, Armin!" Eren said, tussling his best friend's hair. "It's good to be home again!"

"It's good to see you, Armin," Annie told him warmly, and her best friend beamed at her.

Reiner winked down at her and jabbed a thumb in the direction of Marco and Bert.

"Aren't they something?" he asked her, brimming with well-meaning mirth.

"Right. I'm relieved that Bert managed to find somebody after his parents warily accepted him, but I never imagined it would be Marco Bodt, of all people. I hope they manage to get to marriage. By the looks of things, that won't be a problem."

In the hallway outside of the living room, Helen and Elise could be seen talking quietly, Helen's hand resting on Elise's shoulder in a gesture of reassurance as Elise wept quietly.

Eren asked Armin "Is everything ok now, Armin?"

The group looked at him as Armin asked back "What do you mean, Eren?"

"I mean…well, you know. About Sansburg Hall, Kayla, all of those idiots. Are you ok?"

"Oh, Eren…" Armin answered softly, his smile widening. "I'm more than ok."

" **I'm at peace, and nothing's going to ever change that."**

* * *

 **A/N:** **Thank you so much to all of you who've read this story line, especially if you've stuck with this since part 1! It feels so weird knowing that I started this thing roughly 2 years ago, and that it's finally finished. I've had a blast writing this, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it! Thank you all, always, for your constant support towards this story!**


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